Singing and playing guitar, Lori McKenna has built a dedicated audience for her music, which falls into the area between folk and country. Although she was born and continues to live far away from the main centers of country music, McKenna has found ways to echo universal experience in the stories her songs tell.

Writing her own material, which draws upon American small-town life, McKenna made her debut in 1998 with the independently released Paper Wings & Halo. The album served notice of McKenna’s songwriting talent and featured three live tracks. The follow-up Pieces Of Me, released via the Signature label in 2001, was widely praised in the US press as one of the singer-songwriter albums of the year. Guest vocalists Buddy Miller and Marc Erelli joined McKenna on 2005’s Bittertown, with her guitarist son, Brian, making his recording debut at the age of 14. The album included a number of radio-friendly roots rockers (‘Mr. Sunshine’ and ‘Cowardly Lion’) alongside the more atypical slow-burners, including ‘Bible Song’, ‘If You Ask’ and ‘Monday Afternoon’.

Among singers who have recorded McKenna’s songs is Faith Hill, who set down ‘Fireflies’, ‘Stealing Kisses’ and ‘If You Ask’ on her 2005 recording Fireflies. The same year, McKenna signed a major label contract with Warner Brothers Records. The label first act was to re-release Bittertown. McKenna’s songwriting has brought her recognition in her home state and she has won the Boston Music Award for Female Singer-Songwriter Of The Year.

Raw Deal was formed in 1987 to fulfill a shared teenage dream of putting on a live rock and roll show in the high school's auditorium. During the 80's and 90's the band played some of the hottest clubs in the Boston area and opened for such acts as The Alarm, The Blue Oyster Cult and The Village People. Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, the band has shined up the cowbell, changed the guitar strings, plucked (a few) gray hairs and is back sounding better than ever. Playing everything from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Pearl Jam to the Black Keys this band will take you on an exciting musical journey with stops at some of the most fantastic periods in music history. Raw Deal is Mike Kane, Bill Kane, Pete Freedman, Mike Fradkin and Jim Cannon.